Don’t miss the “Writing Of” and Reading Sample below!
Growing pains. Every pack has them, and it’s Gladstone’s turn during a blustery winter filled with changes.
After Jack discovers disturbing information in Hezekiah’s journals, male Omegas face a new and dangerous threat. If that weren’t enough, Ash’s attempt to claim a troubled visitor leaves them with a mating bond gone awry. Their only hope lies with a risky True Elder intervention that’s never been tried and could end in tragedy. Meanwhile, Ben and Evan have their hands full with nervous parents, five new pups, and a chilling holiday rescue.
Join your favorite wolf pack for all the romance, drama, and action you’ve come to expect in ABUNDANT MOON! (Book 3 of the Gladstone Shifters series. (Contains steamy M/M content.)
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“Color me IMPRESSED! I am blown away by the author’s intricate and detailed world-building and his striking ability to create characters. They literally jump off the page, grab you by the throat, and drag you incredibly deep into his world! A wonderful thrill ride of fated mates, danger, and love!”
“As always with this author, just the right amount of drama mixed in to keep things interesting without being overwhelming. This world feels like such a happy place and the characters and storylines are richly built, plausible and enjoyable to read. Book four cannot come soon enough!”
What a wonderful addition to the Gladstone world! There’s lots of excitement, some nail biting adventures & a new pair of mates, too. This is one of my favorite series, and I can’t wait for the next book!”
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The Writing of Abundant Moon
I never intended to write this story. Book three of the series was supposed to be Forbidden Moon, written right after publishing book two in February of 2019. I hadn’t counted on the mental fatigue resulting from an arduous writing journey of nine long months. In short, I was sick of the series and desperately needed to do something else for a while.
I’d been toying with the idea of trying my hand at short stories and had a really cool idea regarding a little orphan boy and a dragon. Just what I needed – something quick and different to focus on before diving back into the series, right? Nope. The sneaky little kid and his dragon friends got into my blood and I couldn’t stop writing! The result? A five-story collection published as Rise of the Draman in April of 2020!
Meanwhile, 15 months had gone by and I’d been receiving (mostly) polite demands from readers, pleading for book three – the one I should have published already. What to do? If Forbidden Moon also took nine months to write and publish, my readers would have skinned me alive! I decided on a shorter, interim story to plug the gap, and then start working on the full length novel I’d promised so long ago.
After rereading books one and two, I decided to write about the birth of all the babies conceived towards the end of Traitor’s Moon. Perfect! Throw in a romance with a new character and you have Moon Pups – Book 2.5. However, once I got working on the manuscript, the story developed into a novel of its own! So, I changed the name to Abundant Moon, designated it as the new book three, and buckled down to write the thing as fast as I could. Three months from beginning to end is warp speed for me, and required many changes and personal sacrifices to get it done.
Part way through the manuscript, I hit a bump in the road which slowed me down. It also scared me! At first, I wasn’t sure I could fix it without starting over completely. You see, Robert’s character, who is involved in the major romance of the story, simply wouldn’t work the way I’d planned. He needed drastic changes to his personality, career, attitude, and integration into the pack. A ripple effect caused adjustments to other story threads, requiring a lot of rewriting. I’ll admit, the end result is much more pleasing and fits the overarching idea of the book better.
This story was intended to be less heavy and emotionally charged than the first two books, allowing Gladstone a bit of a breather. My characters and their experiences needed to match the happier themes of family, pups, and new mates. Fortunately, balancing this with essential drama and action wasn’t as difficult as I expected it to be, and the book contains all the elements my readers have come to expect. The wild journey between books two and three is one I wouldn’t enjoy repeating, though I’m happy with Abundant Moon and believe my readers will be too.
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Reading Sample
Prologue
December 6, Gladstone infirmary, 2:30 a.m.
“Now, Erin. We’re losing him!”
“But what about…”
“Bag him! I’ve got the patient.”
Erin opened a plain, brown paper bag and held it over the distressed man’s nose and mouth.
“Just breathe into the bag, Cody. You’re going to be fine, and so is your mate.”
Amid the crinkling of crisp paper, Abigail laid back to rest until the next contraction hit. She gave Cody an affectionate smile, more concerned by his anxiety than her own discomfort. Donna gave her a reassuring wink and nod before turning to her mate.
“She’s doing very well, Cody. A few more contractions and it will all be over.”
On cue, Abigail groaned as the next one gripped her midsection. She’d wanted to deliver in wolf form in their own home, but Cody was so nervous about the whole thing she agreed to give birth as a human and under the direct eye of Doctor Follett. Even at that, her poor mate simply couldn’t relax and started to hyperventilate.
As explained well in advance by the good doctor, shifter women were spared the agonizing hours and pain of human childbirth with quick, easy deliveries. Complications were rare, and almost unheard of if they gave birth in wolf form. Unless medically necessary, Donna supported whatever decision the couple made and did her best to make the event as pleasant as possible.
A soft knock on the birthing room door interrupted the process; Jonah’s scent having already announced his arrival. Noting a serious case of bed-head, Erin let him in with a wry smile and he went immediately to comfort Cody. Jonah said nothing as he slipped in behind the poor man, hands resting on tight shoulders. Omega scent washed away the tension, allowing Cody to relax and resume normal breathing. He lowered the paper bag and handed it back to Erin.
“Thank you. Sorry about that, I…”
Erin smiled.
“No worries. I’m told it happens all the time. Why don’t you hold Abigail’s hand and help her through the last of it. The baby’s almost here!”
Cody stood, leaning over the comfortable bed to place a soft kiss on his mate’s forehead. Hand in hand, the next few minutes flew by until Abigail’s body gave the final push. At 2:46 a.m., Perry Lee Erwin made a squalling entrance into the world. With Cody hovering nearby, Donna severed the cord, checked him over, recorded his weight, and wrapped him in a soft white blanket. Meanwhile, Erin took care of the placenta and waited while Abigail shifted to wolf form and back again, removing virtually all evidence of the birthing process.
Perry lay quietly in his mother’s arms, taking in the scents of both parents and the reassuring presence of an Omega. Abigail exposed a nipple and the wispy-haired Beta pup latched on greedily. Cody beamed with pride; all the stress forgotten as he relished his role as a first-time father and leaned down to kiss his mate.
“He looks a lot like you, babe – lucky kid. I love you!”
With a small gesture, Donna herded Erin and Jonah out of the room, giving the family a few minutes alone. Exhausted, Jonah paused at the main entrance before going home. Relieved laughter gave him away and both Donna and Erin joined him.
“I’ve never witnessed a human birth before. I’m glad you called for me.”
Donna gave him a brief hug.
“Thank you for coming so quickly. I know you’ve been working overtime and haven’t been getting enough sleep. For a while there, I feared Cody might need more attention than his mate! You do good work, and you’re more than welcome to attend any births in the future. We still have Katrine, Mandy, and Robyn between now and March.”
Jonah rolled his eyes at the reminder.
“I know! There must have been something in the water around here. Rumor has it the two of you are doing some family planning.”
Both mother and daughter blushed and smiled. Donna shook her finger at the cheeky Omega.
“You can tell the wagging tongues I will neither confirm nor deny their gossip. Now, off you go before I decide to give you a prostate exam.”
Flustered, Jonah swept out the door amidst the women’s laughter, making his way home through the snow and back to bed.
Chapter 1
Later that morning (Saturday)
Lance hit the mattress face-down, having only enough time to grunt before Ash jerked his slender hips higher and slid home. He groaned as his friend’s enormous cock split him wide, squeezing against his prostate in the best possible way with each punishing thrust. They’d already enjoyed a steamy make-out session, followed by a doubly explosive sixty-nine, but those were only the preliminaries. This, this, is what he’d longed for all week and was now finally his.
They’d had eighteen months to perfect their love-making, and right on cue, Ash reached around to grasp Lance’s long slender cock in an iron grip, stroking in time with each slap of flesh on flesh. He loved the way Ash used his extra weight and muscle to hold him in place while he thrust in and out the back door. Controlled. Relentless. Perfect.
What began as a mere tingle now carried them both along in an unstoppable wave of desire. Lance muttered a litany of gibberish mixed with creative curses which would have been funny under other circumstances. Ash knew what it meant – an order for a hard, fast pounding he couldn’t deny or delay for another second. Only shifters achieved and endured this kind of intensity, and Lance abandoned the string of verbal nonsense to scream his way through the resulting orgasm instead.
Ash pushed himself deeper into Lance’s body, filling the man’s ass with the fragrant evidence of their coupling. The cock in his hand pulsed again and again until nothing more remained. With a final grunt and sigh, he withdrew the fleshy assault weapon and laid his partner down on the cum-splattered sheets. As always, he slid in behind Lance for some post horizontal mambo cuddling – his reward for a job well done. The slender man wiggled slightly for a better fit and they lay together quietly to cool off.
Ash enjoyed these quiet moments, or rather, he had until recently. Lance’s attitude began to change over the winter with a definite relationship vibe, making him increasingly uncomfortable. If they lingered too long, Lance got clingy and started making hints about their future. From the beginning, this arrangement included nothing more than enjoyable sex between compatible friends. Once Luna brought them their mates, it should end with no hard feelings or regrets.
He didn’t know what might have changed, and as much as he liked and respected Lance, he wasn’t about to encourage any idea of a permanent future for the two of them. If necessary he’d step back and simply put an end to it. Hurting his friend was the last thing he wanted to do, and he hoped the man understood how he felt without having to spell it out. To avoid throwing fuel on the fire, he gave Lance one final squeeze and eased himself off the bed.
“So, what are you up to for the rest of the day?”
Lance heaved a dramatic sigh and turned to face him.
“I’ll go. You don’t have to make small talk or leave hints.”
The men cleaned up and re-dressed quietly. With a final hug, Lance thanked his friend for the fantastic sex and left the apartment. He knew they should probably discuss this change in his feelings, if for no other reason than to clear the air. When whatever they were doing truly ended, Ash remained his packmate and a good friend who’d done nothing wrong.
So why was this so difficult? Lance didn’t know, but the thought of giving it up left him discouraged and uneasy. Deciding a run might help clear his head, he made his way towards the snow-drifted meadow to let his wolf take over for a while.